Diamond-dependent Botswana needs economic reset, new leader says

Botswana’s government will develop new industries, dismantle the State power utility to foster private investment and increase concessional borrowing as part of a plan to diversify the diamond-dependent economy, President Duma Boko said. While gems mined by Debswana — a venture between Anglo American’s De Beers unit and the government — account for 80% of Botswana’s economy, they aren’t creating enough jobs, which raises the risk of instability in the arid nation of 2.5-million people, Boko said in an interview. The country is mainland Africa’s richest relative to the size of the population.